Time Travel - Been There, Done That
by Omitu
Summary: Well, this is a story that came to mind after watching the episodes and reading the comics of Teen Titans that led me to ship StarfireXCyborg. Don't ask, I don't know. It just seems right. Better, to me. So, let's see how this goes! Oh, and of course, RavenXBeast Boy, too. ;D
1. Apologizing to Your Girlfriend

Long days of fighting were ahead- but let's stay in the present. The Tamaranean had already done time travel, and least to say, it wasn't the best experience of her life.

Koriand'r. In English, this name is translated to "Starfire". Tameran was her home, but after the planet's destruction from an enemy planet's attack, she was taken away and ended up on Earth. A foreign place where she had no family and no place to live. For a little while, at least. Now-a-days, she has a new home, and most importantly, a new family. The Teen Titans, they were called, living in a building shaped like a 'T' on an island just off the coast of a place called Jump City. A big city, and strange to an alien. She didn't know the language until she used a Tameranean's advantage in quickly learning any language by kissing someone. Through lip contact, she could learn any language. The boy she kissed spoke English, and then so did she. Not fluently by any means, however. Many mistakes were made in her first few months, and really, she never got better. Her comprehension of jokes was non-existent, and fireworks led her to believe the city was under attack. Her new friends, including the boy she learned English from, Robin, along with a prior human named Cyborg, a green young boy named Beast Boy, and a mysterious girl named Raven, tried to teach her the culture and help her understand, but it was unsuccessful. Even now, a year later, she still gets confused. For example, thinking that, after reading a menu at a pizza diner, frosting was an acceptable topping to the pizza just because it was in the menu. Robin had to explain not everything was a topping, and she wondered what the other items were. But at least after a year she gets by fairly well, and her friends have come to (mostly) understand how she talks and behaves, and cope. That didn't mean everything went over smoothly, of course.

* * *

As the sun rose one summer morning, an orange-skinned female flew through two large doors that parted as she neared. She spun in mid-air, her back facing the floor and bright green eyes staring up at the high ceiling. She came to a stop in what she knew very well to be the main room of her home. "A glorious good morning to you, my friends!" She hollered, throwing up her arms with a wide grin. She happily floated over to the first two she saw, Cyborg and Beast Boy, who sat on a crescent shaped black couch, playing a video game on a large TV with wireless controllers. The two were as into it as ever, moving with their characters as if it would help them win. Beast Boy was the most flamboyant, crying out 'you cheated' or 'that was against the rules' whenever he was 'hit' by Cyborg. Cyborg merely laughed, telling "B.B." that all was fair in love and war. Starfire knew the two to be very close, like an older and younger brother. Both could be immature, kind, and yet serious when it came down to a critical moment. "Greetings friend Cyborg, friend Beast Boy!" The alien girl beamed, clasping her hands together, tilting her head to the left with a smile, but all she got in return was a 'hey' from the two males in unison. She simply smiled, used to the lack of direct attention when they were on the TV. "Good morning, Starfire." Starfire turned at the familiar voice, seeing a smile on her friend Robin's face. "Oh, good morning, friend Robin!" She sped over, watching him take a carton of eggs and a bag of bacon out of the fridge. "The bacon and eggs for breakfast?" She asked, earning a nod. Beast Boy shouted from the couch, "No way, dude, make tofu eggs and bacon!"  
"No," Cyborg said firmly, half glaring at the green boy beside him, who huffed and puffed about how it was murder, how he'd been all those animals- the usual. Starfire giggled quietly, putting a hand over her lips to try and hide the sound. She enjoyed the usual banter, it would seem too quiet and lonely without it all. However... "Please, where is friend Raven?" Starfire asked out of the blue, looking over to Beast Boy. He paused the video game and leaned over the back of the couch, arms hanging over the floor. "She went to the book store again." He said, his tone that of disappointment. "Why did you not join her?" Beast Boy pointed a thumb back at the TV. "Cyborg and I were in the middle of a game."  
Robin cracked open an egg over the pan, the sizzling being the only sound left for a moment. Then, he turned to Beast Boy and said, "You just got her to agree to date you, and you ditch her for a video game?"  
"She said it was okay!" Beast Boy whined, earning a sigh from his three friends. Starfire raised a hand. "Perhaps you should go find her and apologize for your ignorance."  
"Star's right," Cyborg said, sitting back on the couch, glancing at Beast Boy. "You should go tell her you're giving up video games for a week as an apology."  
"What?! Dude!" Robin chuckled, "I'm sure Raven would appreciate that."  
"But- but-" Beast Boy began to refuse, but before he could the team's communicator's started to beep. Beast Boy answered his first. "Raven, what's wrong?" He asked quickly, Cyborg grinning ear-to-ear at Beast Boy's obvious concern for his new girlfriend. The teenager who appeared on the other end of the screen was calm as always, but the sound of gunshots were evident. "Robbery at the bank."  
"On my way!" Beast Boy returned his communicator to it's rightful placed, transformed into a cheetah, and rushed out of the tower. Robin turned off the burner and followed close behind, after him Starfire and Cyborg rushed out as well.

* * *

"Azarath, Mentrion, Zinthos!" Raven chanted, eyes flashing white as she threw a stack of bricks onto the get away car the three men were about to climb into, her newly bought book held against her side by her opposite arm. The three men gasped, glaring up at her, raising their guns. Raven pulled up a shield of black energy to protect herself, the bullets reflecting off the shield. About then, a familiar green tiger roared and bared it's teeth as it raced towards the three men. He stopped just short of them, and as they turned their guns on him, Robin quickly kicked one of the men down, Starfire picking up the other two by the collar of their shirts. "Have you never heard of the job to get finances?" She asked, eyes glowing bright green. Cyborg walked up next to Beast Boy as he returned to his altered human form, looking over at Raven as she slowly floated towards them, taking a quiet step onto the sidewalk. The green teenager smiled, "Glad you're okay." Raven nodded in response, turning to watch Robin and Starfire tie up the three men, taking their guns. Cyborg remarked, "Well that was easy. Raven could have handled that herself." The grey-skinned female being spoken of turned to peek at Cyborg past her hood. "I wanted to hurry it along so I can get home and read my new book." Cyborg chuckled, "Sounds just like you." Raven turned, walking back in the direction of the tower, opening the book to the first page and starting to read. Beast Boy was quick to follow her, walking beside her. Cyborg smiled back at Starfire and Robin, before the three went to return home as well. "Good work, Starfire." Robin complimented, adjusting his mask absently. "Thank you, Robin!" The Tameranean smiled, flying up next to Cyborg. She looked at him curiously. "Did you not do the 'booyah' because you did not join the battle?" She asked, earning a shrug. "Catching a few bank robbers isn't really worth a booyah." He teased with a smile. "I'm saving my next one for a decent criminal." Starfire nodded slightly, landing to walk alongside him, Robin just behind. He watched the two quietly, a bit of displeasure evident in his expression.

The five walked into the main room of the tower after a short walk home. Robin returned to cooking, Starfire starting to cook as well, claiming she was making a 'victory' dish. Cyborg left for the garage to polish the T-car, considering his video game partner was absent. Beast Boy had Followed Raven on her way to her room, nervously trying to think of the words he needed to apologize for being too obsessed with his video games. Raven stopped just before they reached her door, closing the book as she turned to face him. "Beast Boy," she began, sounding exasperated past her calm demeanor. "Quit stuttering." The young boy laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "So, uh, we're good?" Raven nodded. As she turned to enter her room, the door opening with a slight 'swish' of sound, she heard him speak again. "Uh, Raven?" The half-demon turned to see her boyfriend shifting his feet a bit. "Um... maybe you'd... tonight, we could... go see a movie?" He asked, looking up at her with pleading eyes. She only blinked at first, but soon gave a quiet nod, stepping into the room, her door closing behind her. "Yes!" Beast Boy cheered quietly, throwing a fist into the air in his victory to agree to get her to go on a date- especially after she just got a new book. That would make up for it, right? Of course! Raven smiled ever so slightly at the boy's cheering just outside her door. Even if he had been trying to be quiet, he never could really pull it off. She took quiet steps to her bed, sitting down on the edge, opening her book and picking up from where she left off. She knew that Beast Boy would likely try to keep her out late, take her somewhere else after the movie, so she wanted to at least finish a couple of chapters of the book so she didn't have to stop mid-page and go through the trouble of remembering the last word she read before she could start again. Beast Boy triumphantly strode down the hall, returning into the main room. He was about to jump over the couch and flip through the channels of the TV, but Starfire stepped in front of him, holding out a strange dish of what looked to be purple gelatin with pieces of red broccoli-like vegetables inside. "Friend Beast Boy! Would you like to be the first to try my fresh victory snack?" She asked with a wide grin, eyes twinkling in innocent delight. Instinctively, Beast Boy's hand found it's way over his stomach. He nearly shivered. Robin grinned from where he stood cooking, thinking that this was a much worse punishment for his lapse in judgment than having to give up video games. Poor guy.


	2. What of Nature

Beast Boy had succeeded in taking Raven out that evening after the fight with the three robbers, waiting until everyone had a chance to relax. They left at about seven leaving Robin, Cyborg and Starfire at home by themselves. Cyborg was working on the T-car again, as usual Robin had locked himself up in the evidence room, so this left Starfire alone in the main room to quietly stare at Silkie as he ate the meal she had made for his dinner, while she sipped at her favorite "drink", mustard. No one was vain enough to think the red-haired, green-eyed, and orange skinned female was a human, so it wasn't all too much of a surprise after the initial shock and confusion, it was just an alien thing. The evening had been painfully quiet after everyone went their separate ways, save for Cyborg's machines roaring and whirring. Bored, and a bit lonely, she stood, telling Silkie that his "K'norfka" would be back soon. She closed her door after herself and floated toward the garage, slowly opening the metal door and peering inside, looking for her friend. There the half-man half-robot stood, his right arm in the form of a buffer as he waxed "his baby's" hood. "Hey, Star." He said when he took note of her eyes staring at him, sparing her a glance. "Good evening, friend Cyborg. I merely came to see if you needed assistance in working on your baby?" She questioned, stepping further into the cool, metal-walled room with a friendly smile. "You spend so much on the singing baby, it must be difficult if it takes so long, so conceivably it would be kind of me to help and make it easier and quicker, yes?" Cyborg smiled a bit at his friend. "Nah, no help needed." He assured. "I spend so much time because I enjoy spending time with her." He mused with a grin, patting the car lovingly. "But thanks, Star." Starfire nodded slowly, stepping back a few steps before she turned to walk out the open door. Cyborg couldn't help but feel bad. She must have been bored to come and ask him about the car. So, before she got to the door, he called out, "But I can take a break." Starfire looked up at him, eyes sparkling. She bounced back so fast, Cyborg thought with a mental chuckle. "Want to play a video game?" Rainbows could almost be seen as Starfire leapt into the air and spun. It wasn't so much that she loved video games anywhere near as much as Cyborg did, it was just that she was happy to not be alone anymore. "Glorious! I shall prepare the unhealthy snacks associated with such event!" Cyborg chuckled as she sped out of the room to gather something they could eat while they played the game. He followed shortly after her to the main room, closing the door to the garage as he left.

Outside the tower, in downtown Jump city, Beast Boy and Raven sat inside of a movie theater, watching a horror movie they both remembered- "Wicked Scary". They chose to watch it because they both knew how good it was, and how good it would be since this was the release of the movie in 3D. Beast Boy, who sat beside Raven, was throwing handfuls of popcorn in his mouth, eyes intently watching the film through the 3D glasses the viewers had been given. Even Raven wore them, and he had been teasing her up until the movie began. At one point, he leaned over to his stoic girlfriend and whispered, "So, are you re-thinking playing haunted house?" He teased, earning a firm palm abruptly hitting him on the back of his head. "Ow!" He shouted in complaint, earning a collective "Shh!" from the others in the dark room. Raven used her powers to pull her hood up over her head, hiding from the glaring people. She hated that there was attention on them now. Not attracting attention was the reason she had made him sit at the very back of the theater, away from everyone. Yet, thanks to Beast Boy's loose-lipped behavior, even though it was normal, she had eyes staring at her. She just couldn't bring him anywhere, so why did she ever try? Lapse in judgment? Loss of brain cells due to being around her boyfriend too long? Both were plausible. Either way, the young male quieted down after a few quiet grumbles about how mean Raven was, pouting slightly as he continued to stuff his popcorn- that was smothered in butter- into his hungry mouth quicker than before. Whether he was eating because he felt pouty and dejected, or to keep his mouth occupied so he didn't get hit again, that was debatable. When the movie ended, most were glad for the return of the lights, scurrying out of the theater with laughs of how terrifyingly wonderful it had been. Raven calmly stood, keeping her hood over her head as she stepped down the stairs to her right and started her way down the steps to leave the room. Beast Boy stood just after her and followed behind her, jeering about how awesome the movie had been, trying to get her to admit she was totally scared, just like the last time. She of course ignored him, not responding. As they got outside and walked along the sidewalk, Beast Boy finally said something that wasn't related to Raven's fear. "That was good!" He cheered. "Way cooler in 3D, right? Didn't I pick a good movie? I am so making everyone watch that later!" He declared, looking at the violet-haired female beside him, who gave a small nod, saying, "Maybe Starfire will actually open her eyes." Beast Boy laughed and nodded in agreement. "And if Cyborg throws up again, I'm gonna bust a lung laughing." He mused, glad that he had gotten her to say more than two words. She had gotten better, a little, but when she wasn't in the tower- one of the few places she felt safe in- she reverted back into her behavior from when they first met, cold and uncaring. Sometimes it bothered Beast Boy, made him think she was embarrassed to be in public with him, but he knew Raven would never do something she didn't want to, so he found a bit of comfort in that. After a short silence, his mouth got him into trouble again. "So, about that haunted house for this year," Beast Boy began. Raven stopped walking, turning to look at him under her hood with a calm facade, but she was irritated over the subject. It hadn't been a fun experience, especially not for her- so why did he want to relive it so badly? "It's almost Halloween," he continued. "And-"

"Beast Boy," Raven said with a stern expression, earning the changeling's attention. "No." She said with a firm, 'this conversation is over' tone. The green-skinned boy sighed. "You're no fun!" He complained loudly, crossing his arms with a childish pout. But, after about the usual fifteen to thirty seconds, he clasped his hands and rubbed them together excitedly. "So! What next?" He asked, smiling fondly at the slightly older female. Raven quietly considered, eventually realizing she hadn't had anything to eat since they had left. "Dinner?" She suggested. "Sounds good!" Beast Boy grinned from pointy ear to pointy ear. He grasped Raven's hand in his own and eagerly led her down to the street, coming to a stop in front of a decent looking restaurant with red walls and golden accents. It was a pretty nice looking place, inside and out. The outside was made up of mahogany bricks and glass double doors. Long, but not very tall. A good enough place for dinner after a movie.

"Do they have tofu?" Beast Boy asked as the walked inside together, earning a very bland "not sure" from Raven. "If not," she added, "get a simple salad." The shape shifter shrugged quietly. He supposed he could deal with a salad. "What'll you get?" He inquired as they sat down at a red-leather booth across from each other. They both glanced over the menus, much to Beast Boy's chargin finding nothing involving tofu, only a salad like Raven had suggested. Well that wasn't very dinner like- he'd look like a anorexic male compared to whatever Raven would likely get. That was, until he spotted a single person pizza option. He put his menu over Raven's, leaning over to point eagerly at the option. "They have vegetarian and normal! And it's two separate pizzas for us both!" Raven was quiet, but silently praised him for finding that before she did. Then again, she was reading every wood of the options, he was probably just glancing at the pictures. Either way, it was a good decision, she thought. "Sounds good." She verbally agreed finally, much to Beast Boy's pleasure. When their food arrived, they both ate in silence, something the grey-skinned female appreciated. She enjoyed the few and far apart calm moments she could share with Beast Boy. She liked him for who he was, loud and endearing, but a bit of quiet was necessary now and then, otherwise she feared she would tear his head off.

While they ate in a rare but pleasant silence, simply enjoying each other's company, back at the tower it was a much different scene. On the black couch, sat the two Titans- Starfire and Cyborg- side-by-side , playing a simple video game, so Starfire could understand the controls. There was a bowl of brightly colored M&M's on the coffee table in front of them as they tried to claim victory over the each other. It was surprise- Starfire was usually so terrible at video games, yet she was doing quite well. Of course Cyborg was better since he had been playing these games longer than her, thus was better, but she tried her best. Cyborg enjoyed this, even without the usual banter from Beast Boy. He had more concentration thanks to his absence, and more time to think of his moves. But he wasn't thinking about his moved. No one really understood the alien girl completely, but he realized at some point that night that he knew the least about her. Beast Boy and Starfire got along like little brother and older sister, Robin was obviously very close to her, and she had even gotten to Raven, dragging her out to the mall from time to time. He really didn't do anything with Starfire, never directly interacted with her without invoked reason, for example when they would fight together. This led him to wonder. "So Star," he began, sparing her a quick glance, noticing her eyes were glued to the screen, just as his own eyes returned to doing not a second later. "Where's Robin?" Well, that just sounded like he wanted her to leave him alone. "In the room of evidence." Starfire told him in soft, slightly displeased tone. "Oh." Cyborg muttered, catching her displeasure. Robin sure did ignore the female for how much he seemed to like her, even if he had never admitted it. "Don't feel bad," he tried to reassure the orange-skinned girl. He smiled and said, "He's a workaholic is all, it isn't anything against you." He tried to reassure her. "I am aware." Starfire said simply, lacking her usual perky tone of voice. Something about it was unsettling. "But I wish friend Robin could relax once in awhile." She voiced her feelings quietly. Cyborg shrugged a bit. "He can, sometimes. It just takes a lot to cool him down."

"Cool him down?" Starfire looked at him, and Cyborg paused the game to return her gaze. "Shall I fetch a bucket of the iced water?" Cyborg started to laugh, barely able to contain himself. "That would irritate him." He warned the foreign female, putting a hand on her shoulder. A sound of cheering from the game took both Starfire and Cyborg's attention, and much to Cyborg's surprise, the side of Starfire's view point was marred by the words "winner". Hadn't he pressed pause?! "I have won the battle!" Starfire cheered, Cyborg's mouth agape. He glanced down at his controller, glaring at the betraying device. Still, he sighed and said, "Nice playing." He smiled as he complimented her, hiding his annoyance and confusion. Starfire smiled cheerfully, grabbing a handful of the green and orange only M&M's, tossing the small pieces of candy into her mouth. Cyborg smiled at the little quirk he had never noticed before. "I thank you, friend Cyborg!" Starfire giggled, "You did admirably yourself!" She praised. Cyborg nodded as he set down his controller on what was earlier seat, standing and moving over to the kitchen to pick up the phone that sat on the counter. "So. Want to order a pizza?" He asked, holding up the phone. Starfire nodded, standing. "Yes. With ici-"

"Not a pizza topping, Star," Cyborg reminded her with a soft chuckle, picking up the phone and dialing in numbers. While he called for their dinner, the young alien from Tameran walked to the window and looked outside, smiling at the stars that twinkled, illuminating the dark new moon sky. 'I wonder if Robin is all right?' She thought silently. Before she could worry too much, Cyborg hung up the phone after placing the order, looking over at his team mate. She looked quite lonely, yet... so beautiful. His one human eye seemed to sparkle, entranced. She was slender, lean, tall... the cyborg shrugged off these thoughts, trying to let the thoughts go. She was exotic and innocent, also strange- most were curious about her and wanted to learn more, so he left it at that. Just his human side being a human, right? Most people were attracted to strange people and things that they didn't understand. He didn't know anyone aside from Beast Boy, who saw Starfire as a big sister, who hadn't been interested in her. Maybe, starting at this moment on the night of a new moon, he was as well enchanted and trapped by her mystery and, dare he say, beauty. "Cyborg?" The male was jolted from his thoughts, quickly focusing on her words. "Do you like the night sky?" The alien had never heard him say anything about it, or anything about nature itself. All of the Titans had something in nature that they admired. For Robin it was sunrise, for Beast Boy it was the animal and plant life, lush places. Raven adored dark, stormy nights. Even if it was a bit gloomy to Starfire, she respected that each of them loved something different. But, for Cyborg? She just didn't know, not at all. And that bothered her a bit. She knew very well that he loved his "baby", the T-car, knew he loved driving her... but she didn't know what- in nature- he liked, or at least appreciated. Cyborg blinked, a bit caught off guard by the question. Where was this coming from? "Um, sure, yeah." He nodded, walking over to stand beside her, looking outside at the water that moved slowly, the gentle breeze making the reflection of the stars dance. "What's on your mind?" He asked, curious. She seemed uncharacteristically somber, and that worried him a bit. He didn't like it, not at all. "I am sure you are aware of everyone's favored nature scenery or life, correct?" Starfire asked, looking back at Cyborg, who nodded a small bit. "Friend Cyborg, what if nature do you appreciate?" The alien stared at him intently, awaiting his answer. Cyborg placed his index finger on his chin, thinking for a moment before he smiled and looked at her. "I like warm, sunny days." He decided after only a couple of seconds. "Like the kind of days that are perfect for outdoor activities." He explained, watching as Starfire turned her body to fully face him, returning his smile. "I miss my home planet's nature and life." The orange-skinned female admitted. Cyborg was quiet for a moment, then he smiled and said, "You have us to talk to, you know. And we'll always be here to listen to those stories of your home planet, so you can reminisce whenever you want to." He placed a hand on her shoulder to try and reassure her, at it seemed to work, for she gave him a more normal smile.

"Mh-mh!" Beast Boy rubbed his now full stomach in appreciation as they walked along the sidewalk, on their way back to the tower to turn in for the night. Raven nodded a bit at his behavior, saying, "That pizza was pretty good." She admitted. "And the herbal tea was exquisite." The violet-haired female said in admiration and appreciation. She really wanted to know how they made it like that. Maybe she'd go back some time and ask. "I'd like to go back sometime.:

"With me?" Beast Boy asked with a big, hopeful smiled at his girlfriend who spared him only a quick glance. Raven rolled her eyes, which the green-eyed boy heard somehow as "yes, of course you," in a loving tone. He had a healthy imagination, that was all. Still, what he wouldn't give to hear that tone in her words, what he wouldn't give for her to take her hood down while they were outside. They both still had a lot to work on, but he was pleased with the progress thus far. Any progress at all had been a surprise to the other Titans. Well, one pair had surprised them. Though Beast Boy did feel a bit bad at times when he was out with Raven. He knew he was happy, and assumed Raven was too, but he also knew Robin and Starfire were practically together. The downside of an uneven amount of team mates. He wondered about how Cyborg felt. Though, in time, the near future even, perhaps Beast Boy wouldn't have to worry about his best friend anymore.


	3. Timeless Chaos

The new morning's sunshine that filtered in through the window of the Tameranean's room was a welcomed "good morning". So quickly had the perfect day come! Why, only last night had she wished upon a falling star, and already it seemed as though her wish had been granted. But the truth of a falling star, no matter how beautiful, is dark. Long ago had the star passed that route, and died. Empty wishes, empty hope, and high levels of disappointed outcomes loomed overhead. It was never a good idea to wish on something that wasn't even around anymore, surely only a dark twist would follow. But Starfire was far too innocent the alien here on Earth to think of the dark consequences of the hopeful myth of wishing on a falling star. Every fairy tale or nursery rhyme seemed to have a biter-sweet end. For example, "Ring Around the Rosie". The orange-skinned alien only knew a few of these tales and tunes, and so was more or less unaware of the risk she had unknowingly taken the night prior.

Either way, rays of sunlight attacked her closed eyes, warming her face. With a long yawn, the alien sat up in her circular bed, her feet still on the pillow as usual. She stretched her long, strong arms, helping her body catch up to the pace she was at mentally. "Ah," she sighed in contentment, smiling. The orange-skinned female stood up from her bed, striding over to the window and tearing open the curtains, staring happily up at the cloudless blue sky, at the feel of the sun's warmth on her body. "A glorious morning!" She smiled, turning her torso and head a bit to look back and see her precious Silkie still fast asleep on her bed, snoring loudly- something Starfire had grown accustomed to and could easily ignore now. "Silkie," she called to the sleeping larvae. "Today is a wonderful day!" She exclaimed, practically skipping to her closet. "We are going to have the picnic, I do hope!" The Tameranean took her clothes from the racks where they were hung, along with her gloves and small arm band, changing into them after removing her night gown. Adjusting it slightly here and there, she pressed the button next to her door, thus opening it with a mechanical 'whoosh'. Lifting her feet off the ground, she floated down the hall. As she neared Raven's room, which was a room she had to pass to get to the living room of the tower, she came to a halt to inspect an odd scene. Beast Boy was standing in front of the large metal door to Raven's room, the top of his head flat against the cool metal, his arms hanging limply over the dark-colored floor. Starfire floated there quietly, listening to Beast Boy as he spoke in an exhausted tone of voice, "Rave, I said I was sorry." Now the alien was curious, but mostly just exasperated. She inwardly sighed. What had Beast Boy gone and done now to upset friend Raven? "Please come out." The green-skinned male continued. "I won't do it again, not without permission!" He was pleading. Starfire noticed, but it wasn't enough to earn a response from their reclusive friend. Closing his emerald eyes, the shifter asked, "Are you even in there? Did you climb out the window or something?" He asked, half-joking, but at the same time he wondered if she had actually left, and he was talking to open air. "Please, friends," Starfire finally interrupted, earning only a move of Beast Boy's head, but he didn't lift his head, so all he saw was the purple-colored material over her hips. "Do not fight." The alien continued. "Today is going to be a good day, you cannot fight if that is to become reality!" She explained, smiling at the sheer thought of her plan actually working. "I am on my way to gather preparations for the picnic today."  
"What picnic?" Beast Boy asked, his ears lifting a bit in interest. "I am going to request we take the 'day off' time to enjoy the clear skies and warm temperature."  
"Oh, sweet!" Beast Boy grinned, jumping in excitement, no longer leaning on Raven's door. "Sounds great! If," he turned to glare at Raven's door. "Raven will ever come out of her room!" He complained loudly. "No." Well, at least he knew she was in the room still. Her tone was simple, blunt, and a bit sharp. Quiet in comparison to Beast Boy's often half-shouting way of speaking. It really was a wonder the two were dating; opposites truly do seem to attract. "Oh, friend Raven, please!" Starfire begged, clasping her hands together. "It is a outing for friend Cyborg!" She added, and with that Raven opened her door a crack, peering out with one violet eye that looked past Beast Boy to Starfire. Her boyfriend pouted at the way she pretended not to see him. "Why?" The empath asked. Beast Boy argued, "What does it matter? A day of outdoor fun with Cyborg and barbeques sounds fun!" He declared. To this, Starfire's smile returned with full force. "Precisely!" She agreed. It was then that the tower's lights began to flash red, and a loud warning sound echoed through the halls. Raven gave a sigh, fully opening her door. "Trouble," she closed her door behind her and pushed past Beast Boy, rushing into the main room. Starfire drooped like a dehydrated flower. Beast Boy look at her sympathetically. "Sorry, Star." He knew this would surely call off any plans. "Rain check. I'm sure we'll get the chance soon!" He said with an ever-optimistic smile, following after Raven, tailed by a very glum Tameranean girl.

The main doors pulled open as the three teen heroes entered the main room, Starfire flying ahead at the front. She flew into the air and looked down at Robin who was standing at the small computer. "What is the matter, friend Robin?" She questioned before anyone else could. "Plasmus again." He replied in a deadpan, obviously a bit bored with the purple sludge monster. After defeating the beast time and time again, it was just a nuisance. "Go!" He hollered anyway, leading the team out of the tower and to where Plamus was reportedly seen. Starfire flew close to Raven's side, and while they flew dared to ask, "Raven, please. What did friend Beast Boy do to upset you so?" She asked innocently. Raven turned her head a bit to at least acknowledge Starfire with a glance, then looked ahead, not wanting to run into something. The empath sighed a bit, said, "Nothing so important." Raven assured. "Just a relationship problem I intend to face, and fix, when we get back to the tower." She told Starfire bluntly. A glare was given to the nearby flying green falcon she knew all too well. Starfire didn't press the matter further, instead she angled herself downwards, flying beside Cyborg's car. "Friend Cyborg," she said with a smile, earning only a nod so his eyes didn't leave the road. "After our sure victory, would a picnic be an option?" Cyborg half smiled. "Meat after a fight? Sounds good to me." He agreed without hesitation, much to Starfire's delight. "There!" Robin suddenly called out as they approached a small park, the multiple-eyed creature wreaking havoc in a children's playground. The young girls and boys cried and screamed, scrambling. Without order, Starfire scooped up any child that was in danger, carrying them over to a small cave-like structure on the playground, standing in front of the small shelter, starbolts prepared to fire. Beast Boy's pterodactyl claws grasped Cyborg's shoulders, lifting the metallic half-human off the ground, he shooting his plasma cannon at the creature. Robin skillfully threw exploding disks into the creature's body, each beeping a few times before exploding, dark purple goo flying and coating some of the titans. Starfire was far enough that only a flew globs landed near her feet. Raven her teleported herself into a nearby building, watching the goo smack into the window, thinking absently how glad she was that she wasn't still levitating there. Robin wiped goo from his hair, but the fight wasn't over. Re-growing his arm and shoulder, he lifted an over-sized hand and smacked Beast Boy and Cyborg to the ground, completely covering them both. Cyborg wiped his face clean, muttering in disgust about having 'goop' in his gears. Beast Boy had to complain as well, of course. "Pleh!" He spat out a bit of the goo. "Dude, that's nasty!" Raven stepped through the wall of the building thanks to her powers, in mid-air taking her meditation position. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she chanted, a black and white 'soul-self' unleashed from her body, flying straight towards Plasmus, inside of him. "Sleep, it's just a nightmare." She spoke softly to the man deep within, attempting to help him relax and sleep so the fight could end. It was a success, for the goop melted away, leaving a gangly man lying in the puddle, fast asleep. Raven lowered herself to the side walk, watching the man quietly. Now and then she did feel sorry for him. It wasn't like he had ever asked for these powers, and he could never enjoy a single day. All his life he was asleep for his and other's safety. "Are we done yet?" The grey-skinned female questioned in a bored tone, gazing at the others. "Now all we need to do is get clean." Cyborg chuckled, wiping off his chest. "Seriously," Beast Boy grumbled, picking his hair clean. He shifted into a dog and shook his fur more vigorously, trying to shake off the disgusting thick substance. "Good work, team." Robin said, walking over to the gathered group. Starfire shortly joined, after returning the children to their parents. "Let's head to the tower and shower."  
"Hey, Robin." Cyborg began, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder to keep him still. "Star and I really want to have a picnic."  
"Sounds good, right?" Beast Boy beamed with excitement. What he wouldn't give for some grilled tofu burgers about now! Robin glanced around at the group. "Is that what everyone wants?" As usual, he used a voting system with majority rule. It was fair, but usually it wasn't in Beast Boy's favor. Today, however, everyone raised their hands- even Robin. Raven, however, seemed to play the stick in the mud. With all eyes on her, feeling the pressure and remembering how excited Starfire had seemed earlier, lifted her hand just a bit, enough of a signal to confirm the picnic idea. "Yes!" Beast Boy exclaimed, giving Cyborg a high five, which Cyborg did with force, throwing Beast Buy down, laughing deeply. "Dude!" Beast Boy complained, shifting into a gorilla, playfully tackling Cyborg. Starfire flew in small circles in the air, her ever-usual "glorious" quote coming out as it did whenever she was pleased. "Okay then, it's settled. Now let's go get clean." Robin mused with a bit of a smile.

After their showers, buying necessities for the picnic, and setting up in a nice, peaceful spot in the local park, everyone was more relaxed than when the day started. Even before Plasmus, the air had seemed tense. But now it seemed things had begun to calm down. Starfire and Robin sat down on a blue blanket they had chosen to bring, while Cyborg cooked up hamburgers, Beast Boy made tofu hot dogs, and Raven sat on the ground by a tree. She was the only one not relaxed. Why? Because she was thinking too much. She was stuck on the night prior, the occurrence between her and Beast Boy that had left them distant this morning. And what would they talk about when they arrived home? Would they talk about the problem, or should she deem it useless and move on? He hadn't done anything terrible, really, he was just being a boy, and neither of them could really change that. Perhaps she was being sensitive and over-thinking things since this was, after all, her first time being in a relationship. With those thoughts in mind, she had unknowingly forgiven him and was letting go of the subject.  
"Ra-ven," Beast Boy's voice made her more aware, earned a glimpse of her violet eyes. He was standing just in front of her, something that surprised her, holding out a jelly sandwich for her. "I made you a sandwich," he explained, as if it wasn't obvious. "You like jelly, right?" His emerald eyes shined. "Yes," Raven nodded, accepting the food. "Thank you." She added before taking a bite. Smiling, Beast Boy sat beside his girlfriend, one leg stretched out, while the other was pulled up to his chest, his right arm wrapped around that leg as he leaned forward to see her past her hood. She was sitting in her meditation pose as she always was. Sometimes he really did wish she could relax a little and sit normally. But there were more important matters at hand. "Are you mad at me still?" He asked. "No," Raven assured, picking lightly at the crust of her sandwich. Her boyfriend sighed in relief, smiling. "I'm glad. So you forgive me? We're good?"  
"More or less." Raven said, sounding a tad irritated. Beast Boy smiled either way, looking down at the grass. He didn't mind the tone she used, because he knew that, outside of her mind, outside of that mirror, he would rarely ever get to see her smile. But it would make that smile even more beautiful after a long wait. "You've been sitting by yourself for awhile now." He made an observation, looking to her once again, sitting forward on his knees. "Maybe you should-" Beast Boy's ears perked up, and he paused, lifting his head a bit. "Something's behind us..." He said softly, curiosity picking at Raven, who slowly moved to peer behind the tree there were sitting under. Behind them, in the shadows of other trees, stood some very familiar enemies. Slade's robots. Raven's eyes narrowed. "Slade. Why did he come he back?" She asked quietly. "Don't know, but," Beast Boy stood and was about to suggest they go warn the others, but before he could the enemies had struck at a different location. "Robin!" Cyborg shouted as the boy wonder was jumped from behind. Levitating, Raven encases the robot in her dark magic, throwing it into a tree, breaking it apart. Beast Boy leapt forward onto two of the bots, changing into a tiger as he came in contact with the enemies. Everyone was engaged in fighting the onslaught of robots, but Raven and Cyborg weren't focused on the robots. They both looked each other, asking the silent question 'where's Slade?' While they noticed what wasn't there, Starfire noticed what was. Past the robots, her emerald eyes caught sight of a familiar figure, familiar color. It wasn't slade, it was...? "Warp!" Starfire shouted in realization, flying forward, punching any small foes that got in her way. She shot energy from her eyes at the male, starbolts flying at him. "Why are you out of jail?!" She shouted, enraged that the male was not only free, but avoiding her deadly blows, deflecting them. "And dude, how'd you get to be an adult again?" Beast Boy asked, sitting atop a small pile of destroyed robots in his human-like form. "Be quiet, little shape-shifter!" He snapped, irritated by the remark. He throw an attack, but Raven pulled up a black shield of energy, deflecting the saucer-like energy. Beast Boy looked back, seeing Raven in the air just behind him. "Thanks, Raven." He smiled, earning a nod. Both looked up to see Starfire barrage Warp with starbolts from above, fury in her eyes. Warp countered her blows enough to keep himself from being wounded. "Hey," Cyborg's strong voice earning him an opening. When Warp turned to see who was yelling, Cyborg delivered a punch, cracking the elder male's helmet. Now Warp was struggling to ward off his attackers. Beast Boy went to aid Robin in finishing off the robots, leaving Raven levitating over them, assessing the situation. Slade was nowhere to be found. There wasn't anything that could lead to him, aside from the robots themselves. But robots could be reprogrammed, so maybe Warp was behind this by himself? Raven looked to Starfire as she crushed any robot that got in her way, glowing green eyes locked onto their true target- Warp. Raven remembered the tale she and the others had been told, about 'the drifting' and what had become of them in the future due to Warp's intervention. All too well she remembered it, hearing what had become of all her friends. She'd had nightmares after it all, but of course no one knew but herself. So to her, it was no surprise that Starfire soon reached her target, clasping his arm tightly in one hand, cracks spreading along the golden metal. She lifted the male off the ground with one hand, glaring into the slightly panicked Warp's eyes. "Did you not learn the lesson, Warp?" Starfire snapped, clenching her free hand into a fist, a starbolt prepared. Robin then stepped up beside Starfire, pointing his bow staff at Warp's device, the foggy sphere device on his chest. "Why do you have Slade's robots? Are you working with him? Where is he?!"  
"There he goes again," Raven mumbled in unison with Beast Boy and Cyborg, looking to Cyborg who was exasperated. Walking forward, he held out his hands defensively, as if the enraged teens would turn on him if he stepped too close. "Robin," Cyborg began his usual attempts to persuade the team leader to relax. "Slade would have shown his face by now, or left some message or something. He's not the type to send out a big attack and not send a message along with it." He reminded. Raven nodded. "Slade wants your attention, Robin. It isn't him behind this." Robin slowly quieted down, looking down at the grass below his feet. Cyborg smiled, then looked up to Starfire as she began to question her enemy. "Why do you attack us?" She demanded to know. "Simple. Revenge." Warp said with a scowl, his hands on her wrist, trying to free himself, legs dangling a good foot or so off the ground. "For an alien, you are quite dumb. Aren't extraterrestrials supposed to be smarter than earthlings?" He mocked, and heard his armor groan under the pressure of the Tameranean's strength. Raven slowly stepped down onto the grass, approaching Starfire. "You need to calm down, Starfire." The empath warned. "I know you're holding a grudge, and you have a right to be upset, but-"  
"Do you want to end up as I said?!" Starfire's shout left Raven a bit shocked, eyes widening a tad. Beast Boy walked up to Raven's side and snapped, "Don't even go there, Star!" He defended, the only one who had taken into account Raven's feelings about the tale. He and Robin, actually- they both knew how much it had frightened Raven, even if they hadn't been told. Robin couldn't help it, he shared a bond with Raven, and Beast Boy was close enough to see the small signs. While they argued, Cyborg managed to pry Warp from Starfire's iron-clad grip, and Robin tied him up. Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire stood at odds, the tension thick as fog. Raven was the first to break the thick air, turning and beginning the walk back to the tower. Beast Boy gave Starfire a glare, a rare occurrence, then followed the violet-haired female.

The picnic never resumed. Starfire hadn't been able to calm down, and Beast Boy and Raven talked out their earlier problems, as well as offering a bit of comfort to one another after the frightening possibility of their futures being brought up again. They realized they had both buried it, and weren't aware how thin their defense had been. Robin cooked dinner, Beast Boy made his own, trying to force tofu on everyone, and after everyone ate he and Cyborg battled it out on a video game, one of their favorites, "Invasion of the Bubblebots". Robin sat at the counter as he ate his ham, taking his time. It was odd, to see him so calm after something happened that could even remotely lead to Slade. Perhaps he was thinking about it silent, but not running away this time. Maybe even he got tired of clinging to news articles only to find dead ends. Just one peaceful dinner wouldn't be the death of him, though usually he did act like it. Raven and Cyborg had talked to him when they returned, it was the only reason he was able to eat. They warned he wouldn't be able to fight if he didn't fuel his body with food. He didn't seem to notice the team cared about him, not only Starfire, so they tried often to prove it. When Midnight approached, Robin was the first to head off to bed. After locking up the tower, Cyborg as well turned in for the night. Raven and Beast Boy sat in the main room, on the black couch infront of the tv. Beast Boy was channel flipping, Raven reading a book, both perhaps a bit too uneasy to sleep. This left Starfire, who hadn't come out of her room since they had returned from fighting Warp.

"Oh, Silkie," Starfire's soft voice whispered, sitting on the end of her circular bed beside her pillow, the pink-ish larvae resting on her lap, her slender hand stroking his skin. "Why would Warp return? And how did he escape?" She questioned aloud, staring at her door. She had been waiting for someone to come into the room to talk to her, but she supposed, after the fit of rage, they though she needed some time alone. "Oh, I yelled at friend Raven... she must be upset with me." That was why Raven hadn't come to her door, surely. And Beast Boy was just as likely not to speak to her, not until she apologized thoroughly. She supposed she had snapped out at them, done the biting off of their heads, but she was so angry, scared... she never wanted that dreaded future to come, and she'd do anything to stop it. Grasping Silkie with both hands, she lifted him at arm's length and at eye level, saying, "My dear bumgorf, what should I do? I fear my friends are terribly mad at me..." She trailed into silence, hanging her head, holding her pet close to her chest. Lying down on her side, she only stared at her door in silence, forcing Silkie to stay so she had something to cuddle, to help her sleep despite her dampened mood. The moon had ruled the night sky for quite a few hours now, the stars its faithful warriors to bring light to the night so those who were lost still had a way to find home. Underneath it's reign, Raven and Beast Boy were finally heading off to their respective bedrooms. Finally, everyone was in their beds- but the days events kept everyone up, pondering what was to come next. Surely if Warp was desperate enough to possibly be working with Slade, they had to be on their guards. But soon, everyone fell asleep. Well, almost everyone.  
"Man, you would think those burgers woulda filled me up." Cyborg mused absently as he walked down the halls towards the main room where the kitchen was, mind set on getting a sandwich to curb his hunger. Raven had decided on some herbal tea. The two physically ran into each other as they turned the same corner. Cyborg jumped a bit, looking down at Raven, who was rubbing a small bump on her head from hitting his metal body. He was surprised to see her up. Sure, Raven always got up early, but the sun wasn't anywhere near rising, it was too early for even her. "Can't sleep, girl?" He asked, leaning back on the counter, hands grasping the wood. "No." Raven confirmed his suspicions. "I'm not looking forward to the date Beast Boy and I agreed to tomorrow." She admitted, reaching up into a cabinet to grab the tea she came here for. Cyborg smirked, "Oh? Is that so?"  
"The carnival." Raven said, earning a small laugh. "Sounds fun." Cyborg teased. "Me and a crowd?" Raven asked, putting water on the stove and turning to dial to boil it. "Bad idea." She muttered, a bit irritated that he didn't see the problem. "Chill out, Rave," Cyborg smiled reassuringly. "Your powers won't be a problem, I'm sure of it. Just relax and have fun." He advised. The empath looked at him skeptically at first, then sighed softly, turning so her back was facing him, watching the water for her tea. "Maybe you're right." She admitted. "Of course I am!" Cyborg boasted. "Don't let your head get any bigger than it already is." Raven sighed. Cyborg grinned, "Yeah, yeah," he waved off the topic, grabbing that sandwich he had been coming to get, and heading down the hall, back to his room. "Try to get some sleep." He added. "To go anywhere with Beast Boy, you have to be well rested, or your sleep deprivation will lead to his death." He chuckled. Raven nodded as a response and a farewell, pouring herself a cup of the herbal tea she always drank when she was uneasy. Once she finished she headed back to her room, sitting down on her bed. As she sat there pondering Cyborg's words about her powers, wondering how he had so much confidence in her, she suddenly felt a great amount of uneasiness. Placing a hand on her head, she tilted it slightly to the left and looked around her room. Trying to wave it off as nothing but being overly tired, the young female removed her cape and lied down in her bed, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders, nuzzling her head into the pillow, eyes closed. Maybe this time she could relax. Just maybe.

_"Cyborg!"_ Raven slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. She was in the hallway. But, how? She had gone to bed, she knew she had. She glanced down at herself, and sure enough she had taken off her belt, shoes and cape- she had prepared to go to sleep. Maybe it was a vision. Looking up, Raven could only see the shape of a body on the ground, unmoving. Two other figures raced towards the fallen first, screaming out 'Cyborg' over and over. She recognized their voices easily, she lived with them every day, after all. They were Beast Boy and Starfire. Getting to her feet, Raven tried to approach, but with every step the figures got farther and farther away. She couldn't see any color, there wasn't any detail on the three forms. "Beast Boy? Starfire? Cyborg?" She called, starting to run towards him, but they only drifted further away. ' What's going on?!' Raven thought, tiring as she ran at full speed. A male's voice was echoing, but she couldn't make out the words. She tried several times to levitate and fly, but she couldn't use her powers. And this made her realize she was likely dreaming. Coming to a halt, she looked behind her, seeing two other figures approaching her from behind. "Who's there?" She asked, but earning no respond. But suddenly, one figure disappeared, and a breeze blew her hair into her face. As she moved the hairs to see clearly, she opened her violet hues to see she was back in her room. Sitting up, Raven grasped the blanket tightly, looking out the window. It was still dark outside, the moon and stars still had control over the inky black sky. Looking down at the floor absently, Raven couldn't help but wonder who's voice had been speaking, the echoed voice that she couldn't make out. But she did know one thing for sure. Cyborg had been lying there in that vision, dream, whatever it was... and he had been dead.


	4. The Empath's Knowledge

At two in the morning, with the night sky still a dark blue, Raven stood at her window watching the waves splash onto the beach of the island their tower had been built on. The waves weren't very strong, but with the mood over them they were a bit more forceful than during the day. The scenery truly was serene and peaceful, but deep inside Raven a storm was raging. The dream she had only an hour or so ago was fresh on her mind, but she couldn't make sense of it, not all of it. She didn't know where it had all occurred, or when. It nagged at her like Starfire did when she found something new at "the mall of shopping" and wanted to make her come along, but worse. And few things bothered Raven more than Starfire and her girly habits. The young girl wasn't wearing her cloak or her shoes, but she had re-attached the gold chain belt that hung slanted on her hips, red rubies in the chains. It was nice once in awhile, to not have to worry about her cloak. She usually had to make sure not to get it caught on anything, so it was a good break. But that wasn't even on her mind, there was no room. For now, the half demon could only wait for morning, wait for the chance to go downstairs and warn the group. Tell them something was coming. Of course she knew this would send Robin into a tizzy over Slade, even though she didn't think he had anything to do with it, but it had to be said. What if just having everyone tread carefully would prevent it? But, then, being who she was, Raven knew all too well there was little that could be done to change prophecies. It was true that the world hadn't come to a gruesome end after her father came to Earth, but it almost had. It was simply repaired. Maybe this could be the same. Hopefully they would listen, but wouldn't get too worried. But how could she tell them that Cyborg had been... Touching two fingers to her lower lip, she realized she couldn't tell them. If they found out Cyborg had been dead in her vision they would panic, and that was exactly what she didn't want. Closing violet eyes, a sigh escaped Raven's pale lips. Normally she didn't have a problem speaking her mind, but with her mind as confused as it was right now, it wasn't a surprise. And with a friend's life at stake, she had to be more careful with her words than ever before.

After the sun had finally shooed away the moon and its stars, downstairs, the mood was only a tad less doom-and-gloom. "Good morning, Cyborg." Starfire said quietly, the second-to-last to join the team at the counter for breakfast, sitting beside Cyborg. She, Robin, Beast Boy and Cyborg all exchanged greetings then went back to eating. For awhile, no one said anything, and no one mentioned Raven's absence. Robin assumed she was upset over yesterday, and knew better than to bother the strange girl unless he had to. Beast Boy knew this as well, but in spite of this was quickly eating his breakfast before launching his plan of going to check on her. But just as he scarfed down the last bite of his tofu eggs, the blue-cloaked female walked into the room. "Good morning, friend Raven." Starfire spoke first, much to everyone's surprise. All eyes were on Starfire, who stood from her seat. "I apologize, Raven. I acted like a clorbag. Please, I ask your forgiveness." She requested, looking up to Raven with naught a smile on her face, eyes dark with sorrow and regret. Raven at first didn't respond, and when she did it was a much colder response than she meant for it to be. "It's fine. Not like you haven't lost your temper before." Starfire frowned at the words. "Still in a sour mood, girly?" Cyborg asked as Raven passed him, giving her a wink before he said, "Did you ever manage to fall asleep?" Raven almost smiled at the gesture. He was trying to get her out of the situation with Starfire by blaming it on lack of sleep, and she appreciated it. "No." She answered.  
"You didn't sleep?" Robin cut in, leaning over the counter with his elbows resting on it, looking behind him as Raven opened the fridge and took a red apple. "No," she repeated, taking a bite. "What's up?" Beast Boy asked, standing up, ignoring his dishes and instead walking up to stand beside Raven. "Why couldn't you sleep?"  
"I'm not sure." Raven said, which was not a complete lie. For awhile she just couldn't help but lie awake, then that dream... shaking her head a bit to bring herself back to reality, she asked, "How did everyone else sleep?"  
"Fine." Robin shrugged, but they all knew it was a lie.  
"Like a shut down robot." Cyborg teased, gathering the dishes to clean them. "Pleasantly." Starfire said, looking at Raven. "What of you, friend Raven? Friend Beast Boy?" Beast Boy gave a yawn. "Like a log. I was exhausted from yesterday. I can never make tofu dogs in peace." He huffed, referring to the last time he had been on a picnic with his friends and cooked up his tofu dogs, how Cyborg had lost power and they had to rescue him from that odd guy, what was his name, Fix-It. Raven ignored Starfire's question, assuming she hadn't heard Cyborg's clear statement that she hadn't slept. Raven looked down at the apple in her hand, thoughtful as always. Maybe she shouldn't tell them... "Everyone." Raven said, earning the team's attention. Robin and Cyborg were by the door that led into the hallway, about to go into the gym room before she had called upon them all. Starfire floated closer, and Beast Boy's ears perked. A long silence dragged on. "Raven?" Robin asked.  
"Be on your guards." Raven said, looking up to Robin. He blinked then said, "Everyone's tense and a bit shocked from yesterday. Why don't we do some training?" It wasn't a question, nor an offer, even if it may have seemed that way. Everyone followed the leader down the hall, but Raven grabbed Beast Boy as the group turned a corner and pulled him back behind herself. "Shh," she whispered, watching the other three go downstairs to get to the outside course. Beast Boy was panicking, but didn't speak. He whispered, "What's going on?! First you're all mean to Starfire, then you mysteriously tell us all to be ca-" He froze, a pale hand covering his mouth. He stared into serious violet eyes. "I'm telling you this because I think I can trust you. Promise me you won't tell anyone." Raven requested firmly. Beast Boy gently pushed away her head. "Yeah, I promise." He promised, concern in his eyes. This had to be serious. "What's wrong, Raven?" The young empath encased her apple in dark energy and sent it back to the fridge, turning now to face her boyfriend. "I had a dream last night, or maybe it was a vision. But I couldn't make it out." She explained quietly but quickly, aware Robin would come back soon to 'collect' them for training. "So, what does that mean?" He asked, scratching the back of his head. "It means I think something bad's going to happen."  
"Bad like how? Trigon bad, death bad, or-"  
"Death bad." Raven interrupted, watching her boyfriend's eyes widen significantly. "I was joking." He said softly, worried now. Raven shook her head, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I need you to be calm. I couldn't see anything clearly, it was foggy. I only saw figures, heard voices. If I tell everyone, I think it'll end up worse."  
"So what are you going to do? What are _we_ going to do?" He emphasized, ready to fight at her side.  
"I have an idea."

In the middle of the training course outside of the tower, Starfire threw a brutal punch, knocking the head off of an auto-bot in her path. "She seems... a little upset." Robin noted quietly to Cyborg, not yet noticing Raven and Beast Boy's absence. He was too concerned with the alien female he was so fond of. "Think it's still from yesterday?" Turning his head to look at Cyborg, the other male shrugged. "You both got pretty worked up yesterday." He pointed out. "Yeah, I guess..." Robin sat back with a small sigh. Starfire finished the course shortly after, and he praised her as he did everyone, though perhaps a tad more. "Good job, Star." He smiled. "Thank you, friend Robin." Starfire smiled, floating beside the boy wonder. "Beast BOy is next, correct?" She asked. "If he were here." Cyborg said, looking around, suddenly aware of his best friend's absence. "And Raven." Robin added, turning to look at the doorway. "This isn't like them, even if they are together now. They've never been late..." He said thoughtfully. "I'm sure they're quite fine," Cyborg teased with a small chuckle. Starfire put a hand over her mouth and giggled. Robin, however, switched to 'leader mode'. "They need to train, too, whatever's up." He said firmly, standing. "Starfire, you go find them. Cyborg and I will re-set the course." He told her, earning a nod from the alien. Koriand'r nodded, taking flight to first check the roof. Realizing they weren't there, she opened the door and followed it's stairwell down. Once in the halls, she called, "Friend Raven? Friend Beast Boy?" She called loudly, a hand at the side of her mouth. "You are needed for training now please!" She added to her fellow Titans, if only they could hear her. Every hall she flew through was empty, seemed to go on forever, repeating itself with her friends nowhere in sight. Again Koriand'r called for the couple, to no avail. Raven's warning to be on guard suddenly came to mind, and Starfire came to a stop, tensing. She looked around in all directions, realizing something odd. Something... boring. She had been in this same spot forever, it seemed. She wasn't making any ground. "Beast Boy? Raven!" Starfire shouted, worry starting to build.  
"Foolish little girl." Starfire blinked, recognizing the male voice instantly. But how?  
"Warp!" Starfire turned in a hurry, that fury back in her eyes, eyes that fell on the male she knew too well, in his golden suit. He held four silver disks in hand, and threw each of them at the ground in a different place, but while Starfire prepared to be hit, the devices seemed to do nothing but clatter to the ground. Turning her attention back to Warp, starbolts glew brightly and she pulled back a fist. "You are not welcome here!" She shouted, throwing the starbolt at him, but he easily avoided the blow. "Calm down now, little girl." Warp muttered, a tad irritated at her irate attitude. "What have you done with my friends?!" She demanded to know. "Nothing. Yet." Warp said, tying together his fingers, hands behind his back. "You see my dear, I believe we got off on the wrong foot. I came here to see if we can come to equal ground. If we can understand each other." He tried to explain, but the alien girl was having none of it. "We will [i]never[/i] be able to understand each other!" She threw another starbolt at Warp, but this time, she saw it disappear just in front of him. "Wh- ah!" Starfire cried out when she was suddenly struck in the back by her own starbolt. Shocked as she rose to her knees, she heard Warp chuckle. "Those four disks I threw weren't any kind of diversion. You're stuck in a repeat. If you got up and started running right know, you'd be going through this exact same spot, over and over. In other words, you're trapped in a moment of time forever. Just one. And no matter how manyt of your attacks you throw, they'll only come right back to you- back to the moment they were fired." He smirked. "You're forever lost in these vast halls, you cannot escape, and no one can get to you. Don't you see? It's my revenge." Starfire almost growled with rage, clenching her hands into fists. "No!" She shouted. "I will find a way out and stop you from hurting my friends! You will not hurt them again!" She said in determination.  
"Please, do try." Warp grinned. Starfire stood and gained energy, throwing starbolts one after another at Warp. With her desire to protect her friends the only thought on her mind, she hadn't really heard Warp's warnings. WIth one final starbolt thrown, they all disappeared into what seemed to be thin air. Then Warp raised an arm to shield his eyes from the bright light, hearing a scream. Then nothing. Lowering his arm, he smirked down at the unconscious alien, her body burned and bruised, clothes torn. "I tried to warn you." Warp claimed innocence.

"Hey, B.B.!" A pink-cloaked "version" of Raven giggled.  
"Yeah, hi, Happy." Beast Boy smiled kindly in return, then turned to look back to the 'original, or, the whole, who was sitting beside him in her meditation position. "So..." Beast Boy trailed. "Why are we here, Raven?" He finally questioned. Raven raised a delicate hand and pointed at the yellow cloaked "Knowledge", explaining, "If it was a dream, it was subconscious. So logically, my mind would be the best place to go to clear it up. Do you know more than I do?" Raven asked, well, herself. Knowledge nodded quietly. "Yes." She used two fingers to adjust her glasses. "All your friends are in danger, Raven. Not just Cyborg."  
"Cyborg's in trouble?" Beast Boy jumped up, and Raven was glad at that moment that she hadn't said anything earlier. He stood from his kneeling position, stepped up to Knowledge. "Why? How? Is he okay right now?!" He asked all at once, worried. "Beast Boy, even you are in danger. Calm yourself." Beast Boy looked down at the blue-cloaked Raven, and with a nod from her, he sat back down beside her, more closely. "Is Raven safe?" He asked with his head low. It was silent. "For now, you may want to stay here in the safety of the mirror." Beast Boy scowled. "Stay here? Are you kidding? And let my friends get hurt while I sit here and do nothing?!" Raven looked up to him, amazed by the amount of fight she saw in his eyes. She loved the fact he was so strong, but simply chose to be goofy and merciful. She knew if he wanted to, Beast Boy could be a real, well, beast. But she loved him because he wasn't. Still, his attitude of 'leave no man behind' was endearing.  
"If you go, you might not come back." Timid finally spoke up in a near whisper, standing beside Happy, who looked a little less than happy at the time. "I say we go out there and give him a thorough beating and prove Knowledge and Timid wrong!" Brave hollered, a fist in the air. "Him?" Beast Boy asked. All three emotions looked at each other. "Raven?" They said expectantly in unison. Beast Boy turned expectantly to his girlfriend as well now. Raven sighed. "I think... Warp might be in the tower, and I think he's going to hurt everyone."  
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" He asked, a tad irritated.  
"Because we need to think of a plan to stop him. If we jump right into the middle of this- well- look where that got Starfire." She expressed, looking over as one un-noticed emotion, Sloth, sat up and sat, "I told you guys, it's too much work." She yawned, rubbing at her eyes tiredly. In spite of the moment, Beast Boy found the childish action quite cute. "Now, now." Knowledge crossed her arms. "We have to do something, we just have to think before we act." She decided.  
"That's B.B.'s weak point," Happy laughed.  
"Hey!" Beast Boy shouted, playfully pouting.  
"Okay, okay," the blue-cloaked female stood, Beast Boy at her side. "Let's get a plan going."  
"Indeed." Knowledge agreed with a nod, and they began to talk amungst themselves.

"Where are those guys?" Cyborg asked as he wiped his hands clean. Robin was finishing readying the computer half of the course, shrugging. "I don't know. But we should go get them, make sure everything's okay." He decided, walking back into the building, followed close by Cyborg, who was eager to possibly catch his pals in an embarrassing moment or something of the like. "I think Raven finally sent him to another dimension." Cyborg joked. Robin didn't seem as amused, a bit irritated the two were skipping training. "No. Maybe Raven and Starfire are talking about what happened yesterday." He thought logically. Inside the tower, the two walked side by side, Cyborg's footfalls significantly louder than Robin's, for obvious reasons. But it was odd, how prominent the sound of their quiet walking was. Robin slowed to a halt, looking up at Cyborg, who nodded. "Too quiet."  
"Yeah." Robin looked around for a clue to where his friends and team mates were.  
"Robin!" Robin turned around to see a disk of energy fly at his body, throwing him three feet back, rolling across the ground, unconscious. Warp held out a hand, turning to look at Cyborg who geared up his canon. Warp quickly threw four silver disks around the teen hero as he had to Starfire. "You should have stayed a baby!" Cyborg snapped, firing his canon with ferocity. A flash of light could be seen through a window in Titan's tower.

Beast Boy tried to pry a clinging Happy from his body, smiling a bit. "Come on now, we gotta go make sure the others are safe." He said, pulling Happy's hood over her face with a chuckle. Raven took Beast Boy's hand, leading him out of the mirror. A blue boot stepped out of the mirror first, stepping atop a silver disk that cracked slightly under the weight. A flash of white contradicted the black and red of her mirror's magic, and Raven grasped her cloak, pulling it up over her eyes to shield them. Beast Boy fisted his hands and held his arms up protectively. A gentle breeze pulled at Raven's cape, dancing. Wind? Both teenagers opened their eyes and looked at their surroundings. They were in Titans tower, but something seemed... wrong. Raven took a step forward, looking down at the disk she had stepped up. Gently she picked it up. "Warp's technology?" She almost asked. Beast Boy tensed. "Is he here? Can you sense him, Raven?" He asked, seeing her shake her head as a 'no'. Kneeling, she touched the floor, and that's what made them realize what was off. The ground dipped beneath her, and suddenly the flooring gave way. Raven shouted for Beast Boy as she began to fall, but he was also dropped by the weakened flooring, the two plummeting to the bottom of the tower. Raven's eyes flashed white as she grasped Beast Boy's arm and a black shadow swallowed them, mere seconds later setting them both down upright. Raven's cloak fell around her body to hide her figure, eyes back to their natural hue. "What just happened?" Beast Boy asked, looking to Raven. But there was no answer, nor motion. "Raven?" Beast Boy noticed Raven was staring ahead, and he followed her gaze to a horrific sight. The tower, the great building that had once been there home, crumbling and falling apart, depleted. Emerald eyes widened. "No..."


	5. Through the Mirror

Raven and Beast Boy stood on the sidewalk of an empty street, staring out across the ocean at a small island where a once grand building stood; Titan's Tower. But now, mysteriously, the building looked like it had been left unkempt for years, depleted and crumbling. Raven's eyes were slightly widened, hand tightening on the small, near flat silver disk in her hand. She lifted it slightly and looked at the small crack in it's white, foggy top. "Beast Boy..." She began.  
"Warp sent us into the future, didn't he?" Raven was surprised at how quickly the usually oblivious boy realized their situation. She almost frowned at the tone in his voice. "How long have we been gone?" He asked, turning to face the elder female, who only hung her head in defeat. The two stood there in a mutual silence, both their hearts empty, chests hollow. Raven finally stood up straight. "Beast Boy, we need to assess the situation." Slowly, the shape-shifter nodded in agreement, and followed Raven as they began walking. Where to? Well, neither of them really knew. They were just hoping to find something familiar, anything. Well, almost anything. A sudden gust of wind past Beast Boy's keen ear had him standing protectively in front of Raven, clutching her hand tightly. He looked in the direction the wind had been heading, and there, down the street in his usual yellow and red uniform, stood Kid Flash. Beast Boy perked up instantly, and though it wasn't visible, even Raven was relieved to see him. But something was... wrong. "Kid Flash," Beast Boy smiled. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you!"  
"Wish I could say the same." Kid Flash scowled lightly, shocking the green-skinned boy. "How [i]dare[/i] you show back up here. After everything that's happened... how dare you!" The enraged teenager raced forward, punching Beast Boy with enough speed and force behind the blow to send him flying. Raven raised her hands, black energy encasing Kid Flash, all except for his head. "What are you doing?" Raven asked calmly, though a bit of anger could be traced in her voice. Kid Flash didn't answer, only glared, and nodded his head as a que. A que to someone who was standing behind Raven. Pink-purple waves of energy whipped at Raven's back, breaking her concentration. She grunted at the painful blow, turning to see Jinx standing just behind her. Jinx was ready to snap her fingers and make another unlucky occurrence wound the empath, but she didn't get the chance. "Azarath metrion zinthos!" Raven cried out, angry and confused. Kid Flash ran from the scene, down the street where Beast Boy was, getting back up to his knees. A car, surrounded by black energy, was hurled at the pink-haired metahuman, but the sorceress focused her energy on the bus, slicing it into five chunks that fell around her, missing her by a foot each. Jinx's eyes flashed bright pink, Raven's pure white. The two had been pitted against each other before, but Raven felt a bit confused. After meeting Kid Flash, Jinx had changed... perhaps she had done something to Kid Flash and turned him against them? With all these thoughts running through her mind, she almost didn't catch Jinx say with excitement and energy, "You sure do like throwing cars. Is it because you can't drive one?" She mocked with a laugh. "Would you like to become road kill?" Raven threatened, both throwing attacks back and forth, before they crashed into each other for a physical fight where Raven's skill matched Jinx's sheer flexibility. It could end up dragging on for awhile, a battle of endurance.

Far down the street, Kid Flash's colors of yellow and red raced circles around an annoyed young hero, Beast Boy, who was straining his emerald eyes to see the male, trying to be ready for an attack. Morphing into a large tyranosauraous rex, Beast Boy roared to the sky, lifting up a huge paw and slamming it down onto the asphalt of the road, trying to stomp on Kid Flash. However, this failed miserably. "Wow, nice and big. You can cover more ground with one step," his opponent compliment, grinning. "But you can't move fast enough, you lumbering fossil!" The young speedster mocked, a glint in his eyes that had never been there before. Beast Boy wondered how this could be. Kid Flash's heart had always been so pure, his intentions had always been well. "Come on, big guy!" He continued to antagonize the dinosaur. "You can do better!" The t-rex seemed to scowl, and with a step forward was on all fours in the form of a cheetah, taking up a race, trying to catch Kid Flash, keeping up with the elder boy's twists and turns down alleys. Problem was, cheetahs ran out of steam fast. Kid Flash didn't. Finally, the redheaded male turned and tackled the cheetah head-on, shocking Beast Boy, who hissed and clawed at his once fellow titan. "You're almost as feisty as Jinx, just not as strong." Kid Flash continued to mock, now by comparing Beast Boy to his girlfriend. If what he was saying before hadn't bothered him, now Beast Boy was losing his patience. Next second, a brown bear's huge paw smacked Kid Flash's head, throwing him off the bear's form. Rolling over and standing, the animal stalked over, lunging and pinning Kid Flash's arms down. Morphing back to his altered human visage, the green-skinned boy asked, "Dude!" Breathless, it took him a minute to say anything else. "What's your problem?! You're a Teen Titan, Flash! Why are you attacking me and Raven?!" He demanded to know. Flash scowled, "A titan?" He spat. "There aren't Teen Titans anymore, you know that! You did it, after all!"  
"What are you talking about?" Beast Boy asked, confused by his old friend's words. What in the world was he going on about? No Teen Titans? That was a lie. He, Raven, Sta- wait. "Answer me." The shape-shifter tried again to get an explanation, but this time Kid Flash sped up his molecules, burning Beast Boy's hands through his gloves to free himself, dashing down the street. Beast Boy took a step back, standing upright now as he blew cold breath onto his hands. They weren't badly burnt, just enough so that it would be an annoyance to grab anything, or walk on all fours. Raven could heal it easily, he knew. But where was Raven? And what was happening? Why was Kid Flash against him? What in the world had happened while they were inside Raven's mirror?

Kid Flash was running out of steam, starting to slow down. He glanced back to see a bloodhound- a green one- close behind. Great, just great. He couldn't get caught up in their affairs, but despite his desire to get away, he had to slow down, to stop completely. With an exhausted breath, he slumped down to his hands and knees and hung his head, breathing heavily. The bloodhound trotted up to his side, shifting back to his biped form once again. "Kid Flash, what's going on?" Beast Boy asked again. "Why are you attacking us?" He questioned. The redhead scoffed. "Like you don't know," he sneered, eyes closed. Beast Boy roughly grabbed Kid Flash by the shoulders, pulling him up and saying much more firmly, "Why?"  
"You betrayed us. Abandoned us" Kid Flash finally told him, blue eyes dark with fury. Beast Boy's emerald eyes widened considerably. "What? I would never- we would never-" The redhead finally smacked away Beast Boy's hands, stepping back to stand on his own two, tired feet. "You chose Raven over everyone else." The speedster's eyes were filled with pain. "I love Raven," Beast Boy admitted without skipping a beat. "But I would never abandon my duties as a hero and abandon or betray you, neither of us would! You're our friends!" He said strongly. "Then explain to me why Argent disappeared. Explain why Timmy Tantrum is dead!" Kit Flash shouted, his words a knife that cut deep into Beast Boy, cutting a sympathetic nerve when he recognized the name. When Raven found out...  
"And tell me why mighty Starfire is in jail!"  
"What?!" Beast Boy was completely taken aback, his face paling. "Star? No! That's impossible- Starfire... she's to pure to be in jail!" The changeling argued. Flash raised an eyebrow. "Get amnesia recently?" He asked, half-joking. But at the same time, for him to forget so much... "That's all impossible!" Beast Boy continued to argue with Kid Flash's words. "We were only gone a few minutes..." Beast Boy had his hands on his head, shaking his head slowly, trying to cope to the fast pace. [i]"Warp sent us into the future, didn't he?"[/i] He hadn't said it long ago, but he had been hoping he was wrong. "None of this can happen... Timmy, Star..." Beast Boy's voice fell to a whisper, leaving Kid Flash confused, caught off guard by the younger boy's utterly defeated aura. Maybe he had goten amnesia...

"Why don't you go visit Timmy!" Jinx shouted as she threw more waves of magic at Raven, who pulled up a black barrier, her eyes losing theirn white gleam at the voice. "What did you do to Timmy, Jinx?!" Raven demanded to know, taking a step forward. She stretched out a hand, loosening a stop sign from it's place in the ground, throwing it at Jinx, who snapped her fingers and watched the pole shatter inch by inch. The sorceress started to laugh a bit, spinning on a dime as she released her destructive magic in a tornado-like motion. Raven encased herself in a shield of her own magic, violet eyes narrowing. 'Timmy Tantrum?' She repeated in her mind. 'What did she do to Timmy? When did she even ever meet Timmy?' She couldn't grasp the situation, and it only made her more confused. And confusion often led to anger. Raven let her barrier fall and threw a mailbox at Jinx, the heavy metal knocking her down to the ground in an accurate hit to her back. Jinx began to pick herself back up as Raven, levitating, moved closer, eyes white and sparking slightly. She lifted the asphalt from the ground, tying Jinx down on her back with it. "What did you do to Timmy, you deceitful witch?" Jinx glared with cat-like eyes at the question. "_I_ did nothing." She emphasized. "You were the one who abandoned him and his siblings when they needed you!"  
"I would never abandon- wait." Raven froze. "Warp... he must have put a portal around my mirror...!" Looking down to her captive, Raven asked quickly, "Jinx, tell me what's been happening."  
"Why should I repeat what you already know?" Jinx asked with a glare. Raven raised a hand threateningly, black magic beginning to swirl around it. Slowly, Jinx rested her head on the ground and sighed in defeat. "Fine." She complied to explain. Raven kept Jinx down as the metahuman began to explain.  
"You and your boyfriend disappeared six years ago." Six years? Raven listened intently despite the shock. "Without you two, your team fell apart. After Warp killed Cyborg," Jinx's tone fell to a more low tone. "Starfire went a little more than crazy. She tried to kill Warp, but Robin stopped her. Well, he tried to; she turned on him and bashed his feelings for her, telling him she was in love with Cyborg." Raven blinked, lowering her hand, though her powers stayed in effect. Starfire and Cyborg? Why hadn't she heard about this? "After that spat she disappeared, trying to sneak under the radar to break Warp out of jail, probably to get his time traveling device to prevent this all from happening. She was arrested though, because Warp escaped after she succeeded in breaking him out. Robin started working by himself, he's been here and in Gotham, he travels between cities I suppose." Jinx shrugged, as well as she could with asphalt holding her to the ground. "Everything fell apart now that the Titans separated." Pink eyes glared at an outwardly stoic empath. "You two were believed to be dead, too, but now that Jump City knows you cowards just ran away, prepare for angry mobs. And what will your leader think? What will he say?" Jinx began to mock Raven, who though seemed calm and careless, was in a bit of a panic internally. Jinx was right. Two Titans betraying the team and disappearing like cowards? She and Beast Boy were going to need to do major damage control. But more than anything, the fact that her prediction, what had happened to Cyborg had been right... she scolded herself for not taking it more seriously, not moving faster like Beast Boy had been trying to make her do. If she had acted faster... Cyborg was dead, and it was because she had chosen to take things slow. There were times you just needed to act, but Raven had never been good with those situations, she always wanted to have a plan. When Beast Boy found out...

Slowly Raven lowered her head, her hood slipping down over her face more. Her eyes were still solid white, keeping her hold on Jinx, if not tightening it more. "And Timmy?" The half demon questioned.  
"He went looking for you." Jinx took a stab at Raven's heart, and she knew it was a hit. "You and Beast Boy." Jinx finished, watching Raven, aware the girl's temper could lead to her demise if she wasn't careful. But she had a temper of her own, and to say the least she was tender on the subject at hand; the subject of anyone dying, for that matter. That wasn't who she was, someone that simply laughed at other people's suffering and pain. Not anymore. But she was a bit vindictive at the time, and there was no easy fix for it. "Melvin and Teether moved to Gotham city after Timmy was discovered dead." Raven felt numb. She clenched her fists, but her fingertips couldn't feel the skin of her palm. "How did he die?" She requested to know. "Malah." Jinx said simply. Raven's eyes widened. "The Brotherhood of Evil was unfrozen?" An exasperated sigh escaped Jinx's pale lips. "Seriously?" She scolded. "Of course they were! Warp slipped free of Starfire when she got incarcerated and freed some of his fellow Brotherhood of Evil groupies, then they freed others, and so on! He went back in time from jail to get into the tower those six years ago, this was all part of his plan." Raven's eyes faded back to their natural violet hue, and Jinx was released. Sitting up, the young girl dusted off her clothes, getting to her feet. She looked on at Raven, who was staring at the street as if there was something interesting to be found. Slowly, Jinx felt guilt build up in her chest, heavy on her heart. Perhaps if Warp had tricked the others, he could have easily tricked the couple as well? Raven wasn't stupid, and she was strong- Jinx knew this first hand. "Raven, were tricked by Warp, weren't you?" Raven looked up at Jinx, quiet. Soon the empath nodded. "He must have put a portal around my mirror. When Beast Boy and I stepped out, that must have been how we ended up here. He put a portal right under our feet." Raven was beating herself up for not realizing all of this sooner, for not have prepared better as soon as she had the vision.  
"Alright," Raven looked up to Jinx when she spoke. "I know you, Raven. Enough so that, in the name of our past friendship, you get one last chance." She declared. Taking out the old communicators that Raven felt relieved to see, Jinx opened it and said into the receiver, "Flash. Yield." Come back to the main street." Raven looked at Jinx with silent hope that she could trust her. Maybe everything could be repaired.

Beast Boy and Kid Flash were in the middle of a stand-off when a familiar beep echoed in the barren street. Beast Boy's pointed ears perked. He'd recognize that sound anywhere! Kid Flash quickly pulled out the T-communicator, confirming Beast Boy's hope and opening the device to answer Jinx's call. He still had the communicator! There was surely still hope! Flash scowled slighly at the sight of his girlfriend. "What?" He asked in a clipped tone. He was kind of busy... After quiet discussion, the redhead closed the device and clipped it to his belt, looking up at Beast Boy across the stret. "Come on, traitor." The boy said, turning to leave. "Our girls want us." He said with a bit of a joking tone. At a safe distance, Beast Boy followed his 'old' friend.

"What's going on?" Kid Flash asked as he and Beast Boy approached Raven and Jinx. Jinx stepped forward. "Because we don't know what happened to them for sure, I'm thinking it's possible Warp tricked these two as well. In the name of our past friendship, we're going to give them one final chance." She told him, gesturing to Raven. "Plus, do we really want to cross Raven?" She mused. "That's fair," Kid Flash gave a rare (now-a-days rare at least) smile of amusement in agreement. "And true." He added. Raven almost smiled. She wondered if they were helping her 'in the name of an old friendship' or because they feared her, but then realized she didn't care, so long as they could straighten everything out. Beast Boy smiled at Raven from behind Kid Flash, glad to see she was alright. "Raven," he smiled, embracing her in a tight hug. Raven raised her arms and carefully returned the gesture, needing the comfort. "Beast Boy, Warp sent us six years into the future." She whispered. The changeling pulled out of their hug. "What?" He asked, surprised. "Six years?" He parroted. He turned his emerald gaze to Jinx, looking her over. Then he examined Kid Flash. He said, "I didn't notice until now- you two do seem a bit older. You've changed some."  
"Are you saying I'm old?" Jinx asked, offended. Raven raised a hand. "Let it go, Jinx. He's still seven. He doesn't know better"  
"Dude!" Beast Boy complained. "Oh, Right," Raven back-tracked. "Seventeen." Beast Boy crossed his arms and pouted a tad playfully, Raven lightly amused. Kid Flash chuckled. "You two haven't changed."  
Raven looked at him and Jinx, said, "But you have, and so have a lot of things. Let's catch up." She requested. "Right," Jinx agreed, placing her hands on her hips. "But not here. Let's get somewhere safe."  
"The city's in danger again?" Beast Boy questioned. "Apparently," Raven began, looking back at him. "The Brotherhood of Evil is back." Beast Boy froze, and Raven knew all too well how he was feeling in that instant. Pain. Anger. Fear. "What?!" He shouted, losing all sense of calm she knew him to have. He looked to Raven, grabbing her shoulders. "That can't be possible!" He said. "We froze them all! Who would have freed them?! How would they thaw them?" Jinx was silent, but glad that no eyes were on her. She was changed, she really was, and it helped her mentality to see people accepted that. Beast Boy not accusing her was like the final puzzle piece being glued into place. She was a Titan now, she wasn't 'bad luck', she was... well, a hero. Bad luck to her enemies was now said with much more ease for her, for the enemies were now the bad guys; the true enemies, not what the words had meant before. "Did the ice thaw on it's own? Who-"  
"Rumor has it," Kid Flash interrupted Beast Boy's frantic questions. "After Cyborg died, Starfire-"  
"Cyborg is... dead?" Everyone froze. Beast Boy's hands fell from Raven's shoulders. He turned to face Kid Flash, hardly feeling Raven's hand on his shoulder. His voice broke as he whispered, "No, you're wrong... Cy would never go down..." Raven sadly watched her boyfriend's heart shatter, then sent a glare Kid Flash's way. He shrugged, "I couldn't tell the story without saying it- and you two want to know so badly. I thought Jinx had already told you?" Raven tensed slightly and said in a firm tone, "Kid Flash, I know everything has been hard for you, but retain some passion and caring." She requested, or more instructed. Flash sighed quietly, kicking a stray rock. "Okay, okay." He muttered, "I'll think before I talk as best as I can."  
"Not his strong suit, not being impulsive and quick to think before he acts." Jinx pitched in, smiling at her pouting boyfriend. In a few ways, the two couples were very similar. "I understand that." Raven said, looking behind her at a crest-fallen Beast Boy. But... "Beast Boy," she began. "Everyone dies. But I think we can go back those six years and change this too-early outcome." Well, at least the emotionless empath was trying to be optimistic. Not doing very well, but she was trudging through. "How?" Beast Boy asked, feeling hopeless.  
"This." Raven held out a silver disk that was cracked slightly after she removed it from inside her cloak. "I stepped on it when we left my mirror. It must be Warp's device, how he sent us into the future." Kid Flash peeked at the device, asked, "What happened to it?"  
"I stepped on it."  
"Brilliant." Jinx mocked.  
"It was an accident." Raven cleared up the confusion, even though there really was none. The sorceress just seemed to like stirring up trouble with her old enemy. Beast Boy seemed a bit excited, takingt the device from Raven. "So, if we can figure out how this works, we () can go back and prevent this?"  
"If we go far enough and know what to look out for." Raven clarified what she assumed was truth. Touching a finger to the cracked glass on the top, she said, "It probably only has one use left in it, if any. It might be our last ticket back, so we have to gather information and find out when is right." Ah, there she went again, planning and premeditating. This time she was sure it was the right thing to do, however. "Lucky." Jinx said with a smile. She always loved saying "that was lucky" or "good luck", it was ironic, thus funny. Just something she did for kicks considering her reputation of bad luck. Kid Flash chuckled softly, aware of this habit of hers. "Yeah." He agreed. "Hope it works. See you la-"  
"We have to find out how this started and when." Raven firmly cut off the redhead's sentence. "We need to stop this from happening. No exceptions." The violet-haired female made it clear she wasn't going to accept failure on this mission. "If we return to the same time when we were sent here, nothing will be changed from how it is now." She explained, gesturing with her hand to the boy, as if it would help her message reach him more clearly. "We need to find out how to set the time on the device, and we have to talk to everyone we can find, gather as much intell as we can and have every move planned out." The ever-wise female explained the plan she had in mind. "You bring up wise points as usual," Kid Flash noted with a smile. Beast Boy sighed, stepping up to Raven's side. "Alright. Flash, can you gather everyone who would believe us? Trust us?" Like... Mas y Menos, maybe Bumblebee,"  
"Aqualad." Raven interjected, earning herself a disapproving look from emerald eyes. The changeling knew Raven once had a crush on the Atlantian, on his rival, and he didn't like hearing her bring him up of her own accord like that. Raven ignored his jealousy, for it was unwarranted. "Jericho, Harold," she added on. "And can you tell me where I can find Melvin and Teether?"  
"I told you before," Jinx stepped forward. "They moved to Gotham city."  
"Yes. But where?" Raven inquired.  
"Go to town hall." Kid Flash suggested, turning his back to them. "They'll be able to tell you there, I'm sure. Call or something. While you do that, I'll go fetch the twins and Bumblebee."  
"And I'll get Jericho and Harold." Jinx decided, after scrawling down a bit of information she had regarding Raven's two children. Well, they sure were like 'her' children. "Meet us all back at the tower in three days." Jinx set the date, earning a nod of approval before she and Kid Flash set off to collect their old team mates for the mission. Beast Boy clung to Raven, walking just beside and behind her as they headed for Gotham. He knew the kids, of course, but he wasn't nearly as close to them as Raven was. Still, she needed the support. To only see two of them when she had once cared for three would be difficult, and even Beast Boy could understand that.

But, she had apprehensions. "Raven, we have plenty of time. We can get to Gotham, talk to Melvin and Teether, and get back all in three days. We can make the trip." Beast Boy smiled a bit at his team mate. Raven raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting we abandon Starfire, risk losing Jinx and Kid Flash's help who are our only keys to the past just to go see two kids I was forced to associate with and don't even like very much?" Beast Boy smirked boldly at her words. "Yes." He said, sure of himself. After a long moment, Raven said, "I love you." She turned her back on him and resumed walking. "Now let's go." Beast Boy pumped a fist in the air in his small victory behind her, but heard, "I know you're doing a little dance." She almost smiled, Beast Boy freezing in place- he had begun to do just that. The shifter laughed nervously, walking alongside Raven. "You have eyes in the back of your head, don't you?" He joked. He did wonder sometimes, though.


End file.
